Yet, people are obviously willing to cough up large sums of money for an entire kitchen set-up, which is why Kitchenworld, a Chennai-based kitchen company, has set up shop in Bangalore, on 100 Ft. Road in Indiranagar. Kitchenworld of the Bohra Group, claims to be the only company to showcase and market the complete range of Aran World  a leading Italian label in modular kitchens.

The store displays entire kitchen sets, with the works  in-built fridges, dishwashers, ovens, chimneys, and 35 distinctive "looks"  beginning at Rs. 50,000 for the mid-range category and going all the way up to Rs. 10 or 11 lakh for the premium category. An economy range offering much lower prices will soon be available.

The most basic kitchens at the bottom of the price range consist of just the doors, some basic fittings, and a simple chimney. At the top end are kitchen sets which come with the in-built fridge which has a separate freezer, dishwasher, oven, fancy chimney et al.

But, you don't have to commit yourself to a huge sum of money and be unhappy with some of the components. Kitchenworld allows you to custom make your kitchen; picking a counter from here, a chimney from there till the final product is exactly suited to your specific needs. There will be designers and interior decorators on hand to help customers with aesthetics. The actual parts are machine made in Italy guaranteeing, say the salespeople, high quality finish. Components reach the customer three months after they have been ordered.

Chimneys are offered even at the low end of the spectrum as replacements for exhaust fans. Even the basic chimney situated above the cooking range is capable of sucking masalas and fumes while cooking is in progress, by creating a vacuum. While exhaust fans pull only 25 per cent of the fumes, the chimneys reportedly suck in almost all the fumes and carry these into the outside environment via a duct.

You can choose the exact look you want for your kitchen. A Cristo kitchen, for instance, has "clean and simple lines", the Sofia kitchen is "practical and stylish", the solid oak frames of a Capri kitchen indicate "understated elegance", Stepdue is "contemporary", Le Querce is a "kitchen fit for a chateau" and so on.

Kitchenworld opened in Bangalore on June 10, but they are already flooded with enquiries they claim  up to 100 a day, and already customers are ticking off their specifications on the request forms.

So when you next see the Microsoft ad, with the woman waiting for her husband (who is late from work again) at a dining table in the middle of a westernised wood-and-granite kitchen... and you wonder where in India people have such kitchens, just drop into Kitchenworld. Or call Dinesh Todarwal on 98440-16163.